Hiding History in Firefox

Q. Is there a way to make Firefox automatically open in the Private Window mode so it never keeps track of my browsing, history or cookies?

A. The Firefox settings have an option to always start up the browser in the Private mode. In the Windows version, click the Menu icon on the right side of the toolbar and then click the Options icon. In the Options box, click the Privacy tab. (On a Mac, go to the Menu icon, click Preferences and select the Privacy tab.)

In the History area of the box, click the drop-down menu next to “Firefox will:” and select “Use custom settings for history.” Turn on the checkbox for “Always use private browsing mode” and let Firefox restart to enable the new setting. The Firefox history list of sites you visit from then on should remain empty until you turn off private browsing.

Most major browsers include a similar feature, although it goes by different names depending on the program — Incognito mode in Google Chrome, InPrivate Browsing in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and so on.

While the browser’s private mode helps protect your online privacy, it is not meant to give you the full cloak of anonymity as you travel the web, nor does it protect you from malware. Even though the browser does not save the information, your Internet service provider or employer can still track the addresses of the sites you view, and those sites themselves can also log your computer’s visits.

Making the Move From the iPhoto App

Q.I upgraded to iOS 8, but when I tried to open the iPhoto app, I got a message saying the app was unsupported and I had to move all my pictures to the Photos app. What is going on?

A. With the arrival of iOS 8, Apple discontinued support for its own iPhoto for iOS app.

As you have noticed, when you try to open iPhoto on an iOS 8 device, you get a message advising to “Migrate data from iPhoto to Photos.” If you tap the Migrate button, the pictures you edited and saved with iPhoto get pulled into the iOS 8 Photos app — but not everything you may have done in iPhoto makes the trip.

Picture captions and tags used in iPhoto are not displayed in Photos. Also, the text and layouts from any photo books, slide shows or web journals are not transferred, but the pictures used in them are converted into standard albums.

TIP OF THE WEEK If you are annoyed by the videos that automatically play as you scroll through the Facebook feed on your mobile device, you can turn them off. Just visit your Facebook settings for the Android or iOS app.

On an Android device, open the Facebook app and tap the Menu icon, which looks like a stack of three parallel lines, on the far-right side of the screen. Scroll down to the Help & Settings area and tap the App Settings icon. On the App Settings screen, under General Settings, select “Video Auto-play.” Here, you can turn off the automatic videos completely, or limit their action to when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.

In the Facebook app for iOS, go to the Home screen and tap the Settings icon. Flick down to the settings for third-party apps, select Facebook and tap Settings on the next screen. In the Video section of the Facebook Settings screen, select Auto-play and pick the option you want: On, Wi-Fi Only or Off.

J .D. BIERSDORFER

Personal Tech invites questions about
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